


A Different Route

by GlowingArrowsInTheSky



Series: But the Earth Refused to Die [6]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grouptale, Angst, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 10:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13211523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingArrowsInTheSky/pseuds/GlowingArrowsInTheSky
Summary: Read the original fic for this series up through Chapter 17 first if you're going to read this one, please and thank you.I'm basically reworking the plot for the original fic and it's easier for me to keep things organized in AO3's formatting than in my WIP doc.





	A Different Route

**Author's Note:**

> Again, this fic picks up from the end Chapter 17 of If We Move Forward Together, No One Gets Left Behind. 
> 
> I still can't believe how long that title is.

 

_She'll find another kid, and instantly forget about you. You'll NEVER see her again. NEVER SEE HER AGAIN. NEVER SEE HER AGAIN. NEVER SEE HER AGAIN. NEVER SEE-_

The sharp sound of a phone ringing snapped Alex out of their own thoughts. The echo flower from way back in Waterfall was still pounding that message into their head, painting despair across their consciousness with bright, bold colors they couldn’t ignore.

Looking up, they saw that it had been Robin's phone that had rung and Alex felt themself grow frustrated with how quickly and hopefully their older sibling answered the call when it was so painfully obvious that Toriel wasn't going to call them now or at any point afterwards.

"Hello?" Robin asked breathlessly.  
  
"Um..."  
  
Robin's entire frame sagged at the sound of Alphys' voice, but didn't stop her from speaking.  
  
"I noticed you've been kind of quiet..." Alphys said, voice full of genuine concern. "Are you w-worried about meeting Asgore...?"  
  
Robin sighed and everyone could hear restrained sobs mingled in their breath when they spoke. "Y-yeah, I guess."  
  
"W-well, don't worry, okay?" Alphys said. "Th-the king is a really nice guy...I'm sure you can talk to him, and...W-with your human souls, you can all pass through the barrier! S-so, no worrying, OK? J-just forget about it and smile!"  
  
Alphys hung up and Robin bit their lip to keep from crying.  
  
Twain looked up at their sibling with sad, caring eyes. "Robin...?"  
  
"I'm fine," Robin insisted. Clenching their phone tightly, they dialed a call.  
  
"Robin, please don't," Laurel said, stepping forward.  
  
"What?" Robin spun around, phone pressed to their ear.  
  
"She's not going to answer," Laurel looked down and away, rubbing their arm.  
  
"I'm not giving up on her yet, even if you have," Robin said, turning back around as the phone rang out. When that call went unanswered, they re-dialed immediately.  
  
Seeing Robin turn so deliberately stubborn upon getting something they knew wouldn't happen snapped something in Alex. Suddenly, they felt a mighty rage grow inside them and they were so _angry_ . Angry at Robin, at Toriel, at Flowey, at the whole stupid underground. But of these things, there was only one Alex could take their anger out on directly right then and there. Storming forward, Alex reached out and snatched the phone from Robin's hand.  
  
“Hey!” Robin shouted, making a grab for their cell phone. “Mom gave that to me!”  
  
“Yeah? And what good has it done you!? She never answers!” Alex shouted, sweat beading along their brow from the intense warmth in Hotland.  
  
“She just...I just have to keep-”  
  
“What!? Keep calling her again and again and again? God, Rob, when are you going to realize that she doesn’t want to talk to you? She doesn’t want to be reminded that she lost us!” Alex fumed.  
  
“She didn’t lose me!” Robin protested, balling their hands into fists.  
  
“OH, COME ON!” Alex gestured dramatically with their arms. “What’d you think was gonna happen when we left the Ruins!? Hold Frisk’s hand to the barrier, say goodbye, and then go back home? There’s no going back, Rob. We will _never_ see her again !”  
  
"YOU'RE WRONG!" Robin spat back. The other kids jumped, Robin hardly ever shouted like that and they never screamed at one of their siblings like that. "No one's going to tell me if I'm going to see my mother again or not. Especially not you, Alex!"  
  
"She's not our mother, Robin!" Alex shouted, brandishing Robin's phone like they'd like to smash it to pieces.  
  
"Shut up, Alex!" Bell shouted, cheeks burning with rage. "Don't talk to them like that!"  
  
"You're being a jerk!" Twain jumped in.  
  
“We left,” Alex said, addressing the entire group. “ We left and she’s gonna find another kid and instantly forget about us.”  
  
"That's not fair to Toriel," Hop protested.  
  
"And it's not true," Robin snarled. "She could never forget us. You have no idea what you're talking about!"  
  
"And _you_ are afraid of realizing the truth,” Alex spat with a condescending jab to Robin’s chest, rumpling the embroidered emblem of their robe. “We are leaving the underground, and we aren't turning back!"

Alex brought their arm back and moved to chuck Robin's phone into the nearest pool of magma.

"STOP!" Frisk cried out, running forward and kicking Alex in the shin. Alex hunched over a little bit, giving Frisk an opportunity to grab the phone from their hand.  
  
Robin was staring gape-mouthed at Alex, their eyes empty like someone had cut a wire in their brain .  
  
"Robin, are you okay?" Laurel asked, feeling tension close around their ribcage as Robin’s face went blank with cold disconnect.

Robin took a deep breath, narrowing their eyes as they looked at Alex. "Maybe you aren't turning back. But I am."  
  
"Wh-What?" Bell reacted first, lurching in Robin’s direction as if they were being tugged by a magnet. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm going home," Robin said. "My real home. And...And if you guys don't want to come, that's fine. But I'm leaving with or without you."  
  
"How are you even planning on getting back there?" Alex challenged, crossing their arms.  
  
Robin made a low growling noise and squared up their shoulders. “Like this,” they said before storming away down the road they’d all come up together.  
  
“Robin, wait!” Bell shouted after them, but they were determined to keep walking as if nothing were affecting them. “Alex, do something!”  
  
“Why should I? They obviously don’t want to be here.”  
  
“We need them, you idiot!” Bell snapped. “Plus, they won’t make it all the way back home with nothing but a plastic knife and a pocketful of instant noodles! We’ve barely made it to _this_ point alive. Go get them!”  
  
Alex took a deep breath and made no further argument. Bell was right. So, they surged forward and caught up with Robin in a few quick strides.  
  
"Robin, stop," Alex said, grabbing their arm. "You can't go by yourself."  
  
"We'll see," Robin said, shaking Alex's grip off and continuing backwards.  
  
“I’m not going to let you get yourself killed just because you’re angry,” Alex said, spinning Robin around to face them. “We go together as a family, or not at all.”  
  
“No,” Robin shook them off again. “I’m done. Done with this whole stupid thing. We haven’t been together as a family since we left Toriel in the Ruins. If we’re going to be split up, I’m choosing which direction I go in. Congratulations, Alex, you’re in charge now! And I’m going home,” they said with a strained scoff of a laugh, whirling around and walking away from their siblings with a huff.

"Alex, don't let them leave," Twain begged, panicked hands rushing through their curls. "They'll die!"  
  
"Do you hear that, Robin!?" Alex shouted after their sibling. "You'll die if you go alone!"  
  
"We'll die if we keep going!" Robin stopped to turn around and yell at Alex, just as livid as their younger sibling was at that point. "Asgore wants us all dead, remember!? I'll take my chances on going back to the Ruins."  
  
“Everything has to be such a fucking ordeal with you,” Alex groaned, almost to themself as they surged forward to catch up with Robin. “No way you’re backing out of this now, not when we’ve come this far.”

“Oh, yeah?” Robin turned around again to quirk a challenging eyebrow up at Alex. “What are you gonna do about it?”

“This!” Alex spat, reaching out to grab Robin and hoist them over their shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” Robin screamed, rearing one fist back and rushing it forward into Alex’s jaw with an audible _smack_. Using Alex’s momentary shock as leverage, Robin stuck both hands against their sibling’s chest and shoved them away.

Alex regained their bearings and moved as if they were going to punch Robin back; but before they got a chance, a small figure shot up between them and put a hand against each of their chests.

“Would you two knock it off!?” Hop shouted, looking between their two oldest siblings with irritation that had boiled over to rage. “If Robin wants to go, we can’t make them stay. It’s not fair to them!”

Twain looked over with tear-filled eyes. “But-”

“No, Twain. I know it makes you sad, but sometimes that’s what doing the right thing means,” Hop said sternly. “Robin, just go if that’s what you’re gonna do.”

“Yeah, Hop’s got a point, don’t they!?” Alex piped up, shoving past their younger sibling so they could get up close and personal with Robin again. “If you’re gonna go, just go already and stop wasting our time. We actually have plans to do something with our lives.”

“I’ve been trying to leave this whole time!” Robin shot back, any momentary calm Hop had helped them salvage getting dashed away. “You’re the one who’s been holding me back.”

Alex opened their arms wide in a sarcastically oblivious shrug. “I thought you liked letting people hold you back, Rob,” they said. “I mean, it’s all you seem to do.”

Robin grit their teeth, narrowing their eyes and turning away again without another word. This time as they stormed away, Alex didn’t stop them. But someone else did.

“Robin, wait!” Laurel called out, pushing past Alex with a belligerent shove as they chased after their eldest sibling.

Robin paused for Laurel, not turning fully around but angling their shoulders so they could better see their younger sibling.

“You coming with me?” Robin asked, a flicker of hope sparking into their voice.

“No, I-” Laurel shook their head, coming to a halt at Robin’s side and fumbling around in their pockets. Taking the tattered red notebook they’d been scrawling in for the entire journey in their hands, Laurel looked up at Robin through their clouded glasses and held the ratty cluster of pages out to their sibling. “Trade me?”

Robin blinked, furrowing their brow in confusion. “I don’t-?”

“For your knife. Trade me,” Laurel said, giving the notebook a little jostle in their grip. “I’ve been taking notes on our every step down here. You never fight any monsters anyways, and this will help you get home to Toriel better than a hunk of plastic.”

Robin nodded, their face slightly shocked as they reached numbly into their pocket and took out their toy knife. “Thanks, Laurel,” Robin murmured as their sibling pressed the notebook into Robin’s hand and took the knife into their own.

“You’re welcome,” Laurel said, stepping back and away from their eldest sibling with a nod of their head. “Now, get going.”

Robin looked their siblings over one more time, opening their mouth as if to speak but only faltering to silence. Giving a wave and avoiding any further eye contact, Robin turned and left down the red dirt road.


End file.
